BOOK REVIEW: CHICAGO COIN CLUB MEDALS AND TOKENS

I would like to add a few comments to the book review by John and Nancy Wilson on Bill Burd’s book Medals and Tokens of the Chicago Coin Club in last week’s E-Sylum.

My first response in viewing this book was “wow” for the vast number and variety of numismatic items issued by the Chicago Coin Club. The Club is certainly among the top coin clubs in America with an active program issuing such items. I owned two of those listed at one time but was unaware of the hundreds of others.

The book covers numismatic items from the personal collection of author Bill Burd. Listing items “from the author’s collection” is the most reliable documentation for any work. The reader can be assured the accuracy of the author’s descriptions for his familiarity of the chosen objects; it is the obvious first source for a search for information about the items to be discussed.

A second source should be public numismatic collections, the museums in the field. Their mission is to furnish just such information to authors seeking data from items in their collections.

A third source are the producers which could furnish information only they can supply. Subsequent sources are fellow collectors and dealers who would deal in such items. As a cataloger of Medallic Art Company’s archives I could have supplied data on two medals issued early in the Club’s history unlisted in Bill’s book. The text for each item is – not a catalog format – but a chatty comment about each.

The author must make the decision: does he want a comprehensive listing of all known specimens – of far greater reference value – or does he want to document his own collection. Bill Burd chose the latter.

In addition to the medals and coins mentioned in the title, Bill included the club’s wooden nickels, elongated, counterstamped, encased postage, odd and curious, specimen sheets and other paper items. Plus he included more than 40 associated items to the major items; these add lore and heritage of the items.

Forming the collection took a great deal of time and dedication to acquire the items as they came on the market, to the author’s credit. The Chicago Coin Club is fortunate to have such a knowledgeable and committed numismatist as Bill Burd for a member!

To read the earlier E-Sylum articles, see:
NEW BOOK: CHICAGO COIN CLUB MEDALS AND TOKENS (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/esylum_v21n10a04.html)
BOOK REVIEW: CHICAGO COIN CLUB MEDALS AND TOKENS (http://www.coinbooks.org/v21/club_nbs_esylum_v21n19.html#article5)

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